HUNTINGTON — A camera designed by a robotics search and rescue outfit in Florida is being dropped down a previously drilled borehole in hopes of finding more answers to the fate of six trapped miners at the Crandall Canyon Mine.
A seventh hole will also begin to be drilled today, hopefully reaching a kitchen area inside the mine, according to Mine Safety and Health Administration officials, who have been coordinating rescue efforts at the mine with mine owner UtahAmerican Energy Inc.
"It's a long shot, and I repeat, it's a long shot, but we have to do everything possible to locate their loved ones," said Jack Kuzar, MSHA district manager.
Since the night of the initial mine collapse on Aug. 6, MSHA has been working with the Center for Robot Assisted Search and Rescue, based out of the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida, to develop and secure plans for a robotic descent.
The camera, which is attached to the tractor-like robot, will be dropped through either the third or fourth hole already drilled from the top of the mountain.
The fourth hole was drilled in its location after MSHA officials received information that vibrations were detected under the earth's surface. It also appeared to have the least amount of rubble in the mine shaft and the most space for the robot to scour, said Salt Lake City attorney Colin King, who is part of a group of lawyers representing the families of the trapped miners.
Six previous holes have been bored through the mountain to the mine — some of them nearing depths of 2,000 feet, and others punching through to piles of rock and debris — only to reveal no trace of the missing miners.
A tethered robotic device similar to the one being used at Crandall Canyon Mine was sent into the the World Trade Center after the towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001. Its size and capabilities make it unique; however, it is not infallible.
"I give us less than a 50 percent chance of being able to come up with any additional information," said CRASAR director Robin Murphy. "It's certainly a chance we're willing to take."
Murphy said the device could break on the way in, get stuck in mud, not to be able to recover from a rollover, or even not work once it hits the base of the fourth hole. Another concern is that once it's in the mine cavity, the robot may not be retrievable.
Images and sound bytes from the attached camera are captured real-time, so, Murphy said, any and all information picked up in the mine will be collected. A new robot can be constructed in a week's time and would cost $100,000 to build. Inuktun Services Limited, a privately owned Canadian design firm, is lending the equipment to MSHA and only if the robot is destroyed will it ask for a repayment.
The families of the six trapped miners — Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez — were renewed with hope when they heard news of the additional rescue attempts.
"It could be the miracle we're waiting for," said Cesar Sanchez, Manuel Sanchez's brother. He said the changing emotions have been difficult to deal with for his family, but it is nice to know MSHA officials "have obviously not given up on us."
The families have been encouraging officials to drill a seventh bore hole into the kitchen area, "because that is where (the miners) know to go when something like this happens," Sanchez said.
"They could be barricaded in there," he said. "They could be right there waiting for us."
Even if they don't find the men in the kitchen area, Sanchez believes getting there will provide a lot of answers, such as whether the men made it to a vehicle in order to exit and if they even survived the mine's collapse.
Barring any complications with the robot, it will reach the bottom of the borehole by today, King said. The robot's traction wheels will allow it to move across the rocks and an attached 200-watt lamp will light up to 50 feet ahead, "giving us some idea of what's down there," he said. "It's an effort and the families are very excited."
The robot is said to have arrived at the mine late Friday night, and MSHA officials said they didn't want to tell anyone about it until they knew it could work.
"I just hope it works like it's supposed to," Sanchez said. He and other family members remain hopeful they will see their loved ones again.
Denny Erickson, a cousin of trapped miner Don Erickson, said he's grateful that efforts are still being made to bring them home.
"It makes us feel like somebody out there still wants to help," he said.
Editor's note: To download a demonstration video of the robot, right click on this link (demonstration video) and save the file to your computer. The video file is about 2 megabytes in size and has been scanned for viruses. The video has only been tested and watched with the QuickTime player program although other video player programs will also work.
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com; ldethman@desnews.com